Gold, Silver and Miners Pummeled Friday

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tdp2664 InvestorPlace Gold and silver continued to move lower Friday despite ongoing weakness in the U.S. economy and persisting sovereign debt problems in the European Union. The U.S. dollar and Treasuries have become the preferred safe havens for traders after the Fed’s announcement of “Operation Twist.” Spot gold breached the $1,700-per-ounce level and kept plummeting. It was trading at $1,647 Bid, $1,648 Ask on Friday afternoon, hitting a high of $1,697.90 and a low of $1,628.60. The London p.m. gold fix was set at $1,689 by the LBMA . Spot silver was bid at $30.63 with an ask price of $30.73, hitting a mid-afternoon high of $33.44 and a low of $29.76. The reference price for spot delivery of an ounce of silver was set at $32.90 by the LBMA in the London a.m. Gold and silver trusts continued their steep slide Friday. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD ) was around 5.1% lower. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU ) was down around 5.2%. The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV ) was around 14.2% lower. Gold and silver miners ETFs continued to fall sharply. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX ) was more than 5.7% lower. The Market Vector Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ ) was down 7.2%. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL ) was off more than 7%. Shares of gold miners continued their downward slide. Agnico Eagle Mines (USA) (NYSE: AEM ) was around 6.6% lower. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX ) was showing losses of around 4.7%. Goldcorp (NYSE: GG ) was down around 4.5%. Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM ) was down some 4.6%. NovaGold Resources (USA) (AMEX: NG ) was off nearly 6%. Silver miners’ shares were hammered as well. Coeur D’Alene Mines Corp. (NYSE: CDE ) was around 6.2% lower. Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL ) was down around 6%. Pan American Silver Corp. (USA) ( NASDAQ : PAAS ) was 5.2% lower. Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) (NYSE: SLW ) was showing losses of around 9.6%. Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) ( NASDAQ : SSRI ) was down more than 7.6%. The author does not hold positions in any of the above-mentioned investments.